This chart is no where near complete. There was so much that I learned and discovered on my trip that I may never be able to get it all down as I would like. These are some of the most basic things that I learned about the culture and schools.

1. Attends school for different amounts of time - The US is in school for approx. 180 days a year. Japan's students attend for about 245.

2. Longer school days - Most students in the United States start school between 8 and 9 AM and end between 3 and 4 PM. Students in Japan have a MUCH longer school day, usually starting around 8 AM and ending around 5 PM. They also attend half a day of school on Saturday.

3. Activities During and After School - During school, US students attend Music, Art, and PE classes on the Elementary level. However, in Japan, they often have sporting events and festivals that the students help plan. Students in Japan are also expected to help run the classroom by setting up for the day, running the announcements, cleaning the school, and so on. After school, most students in the US go home for the afternoon to do homework. A few will play an after school sport or go to an after school class like dance. In Japan, most students attend Juku, which is a cram school to help prepare them for college. Some will also take extra classes or sports.

4. Traditional sayings during the day - In Japan, people have traditional saying that they will say during different times and situations during the day. They say something before and after eating, before leaving and after returning, and so on.

5. Class sizes - In Japan, most classes in the elementary level have up to 40 students. In the US, class sizes for an elementary room will range between 18 and 25.

6. Shoes - Most people in Japan will remove shoes when entering homes or specific buildings such as schools. They take off their shoes in an entrance way and put on slippers which they will wear in the building. This keeps their floors from becoming dirty from outside.

1. How is the discipline in Japan handled?

2. What is lunch time like?

3. How is cleaning done?

4. After school club activities?

5. How is the government run?

6. What things are like for teachers in Japan

1. The Japanese society has noticed that there has been a large amount of stress among the children in Japan. They believed this was due to the really tough exams, as well as the pressure to do well in school put on them by teachers, parents, and society. The students had extremely high test scores compared with other countries. However, the students suffered and didn't do as well creatively. Therefore, within the last 5-10 years, education has been changing in Japan. They don't go to school for as long during the days, nor do they attend on Saturdays.

2. Some schools have dropped the traditional school uniforms, though many schools still require them. Despite some schools' lack of uniform, there is a dress code and the students are expected to maintain certain things to keep free dress. They also carry the same bags from kindergarten through 6th grades, then special bags for the upper grades.

3. Students in some schools get to learn special things, such as Taiko Drumming, Japanese Harp, Calligraphy, and cooking. Many schools have a cooking class every so often where the students are required to follow a recipe and prepare a meal within the set time. Not all schools have the same curriculum.

4. Class size in Japan were typically between 35-40 students. Special Ed classrooms were the exception with only about 3-10 students.

5. The classrooms were sparsely decorated, compared to the USA, though more decorations were present than I was expecting.

6. Shoes were removed in all schools I visited in the entry way. Special in school tennis shoes were worn by the students, many had the heels pushed down for ease in slipping them on and off for changing shoes.

7. Classrooms did not have computers or TVs in them. Instead, one room had 40-50 computers and another had other electronic equipment.

8. Teachers did not have their personal desks, supplies or anything in the classroom. They did have a small desk with the things needed for the current classes they were teaching. However, the teachers' main desks were located in the faculty room where all teachers in the school had a space, their supplies and did grading, conferencing and all things outside of teaching.

9. Lunch was eaten in the classrooms, except for at the high school I visited where there was a cafeteria for students who had to buy food. The high schoolers who did not buy food would eat in their classrooms. As for the Elementary and Jr. High schools, students went to the area where the food was prepared wearing white coats and hats to keep their hair back, picked up the food, dishes and all things needed for the day, and carried it back to their classrooms. There, they set up the food line and served the rest of the class who had pushed their desks together into groups to eat. Students went through the serving line like the would a regular cafeteria line here, only they were served by their classmates. Once everyone had been served, the students serving would get their food, sit down, and then everyone would say "Itadakimasu" and then they could start eating. Seconds were allowed once everyone had firsts, and after everyone was done, they were responsible for cleaning their trays, dumping their food for recycling and then the servers would take the lunch supplies back to where they got them. Desks were moved back to the normal classroom position and after a short break class would start again.

10. The Elementary school had an interesting recess. Every day at a specific time, the entire school would meet in the school playground area. The other students would lead a group with students from every grade level. Most groups ranged from 10-20 students of all ages. They would then play a game or do an activity for 20 minutes, often lead by the 6th grade students. Some played red light green light, some a unusual form of Red Rover, some did relay races, etc. After 20 minutes, the students all ran back inside to continue class.

11. Younger students wore reversable hats that signified their grade and that they were younger students.

12. Students, even those in schools that do not require uniforms, all wear a specific gym class uniform. They would change into this uniform either in their classrooms or elsewhere before their PE class would start.

13. Teachers in Elementary School in Japan teach all subjects, including music, art, and PE. Just as the students changed into gym clothes, the teachers changed as well to be able to better teach the classes.